Lost teen found safe﻿﻿﻿A Pope County youth who was reported missing by his father has been found safe, the Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) said Friday in a news release. Around 3:47 p.m. Thursday, Pope County Dispatch 911 received a call that a 15-year-old boy was lost near Old State Highway 7 and Moccasin Spur. The boy had reportedly been hunting with his father in the area when the two became separated. The PCSO, Pope County Office of Emergency Management S...

Fire fighters busy during holidayPottsville, Atkins, Pea Ridge and Dardanelle fire departments responded to a structure fire Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. on Jordan Lane, west of Pottsville. Atkins, Pottsville and Pea Ridge fire departments also responded on Christmas day to a 911 call of a house fire on NW 1st Street in Atkins at 11:30 p.m. The three departments were able to extinguish the house fire by approximately 3:00 a.m. Thursday. The cause of both fires is under inv...

Holiday sales up from 2012Local retail stores are reporting higher sales from this year's holiday shopping season than in 2012. The shopping season began on Black Friday and ended when stores closed on Christmas Eve. This year, many retailers started Black Friday early and opened on Thanksgiving Day. Even so, shoppers had five fewer days this season than in 2012 — Nov. 28 to Dec. 24 versus Nov. 23 to Dec. 24 last year — because of when Thanksgiving fell on the calendar...

Kiwanis project raises $72,500The Russellville Kiwanis Club — which decided in September 2012 to join the international ELIMINATE Project — has raised $72,500 as of last week and is continuing its efforts. “A great act is to help a human being, the greatest act is to save a human life,” Arnold Bowden, chairman of Russellville Kiwanis ELIMINATE Committee, said. The campaign will continue through 2017 and its objective is to “eradicate maternal and neonatal tetanus from the ...

News Briefs (Dec. 26, 2013)Yell County Head Start taking applications Community Development Institute Head Start serving Tri-Region Arkansas’s federally funded preschool programs are now taking applications for fall enrollment. Tri-Region Arkansas is a non-profit agency that administers Head Start, Early Head Start, and Home-Based Head Start preschool and infant toddler programs in Danville and Dardanelle and through out the county. For additional information or an appl...

NKR hosts adoption eventMore than a dozen volunteers from No Kill Russellville (NKR) endured the cold weather Monday to help find homes for dogs from the Russellville Animal Shelter during NKR's adoption event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tractor Supply Company. Meagan Hindsman, NKR volunteer, said adoption events are a good way for people to get to know the adoptable pets. "People don't get to see a dog's true personality in a kennel," she said. "Out here, when they've ...

Brothers reunited at ATU graduationNathan Qualls arrived for his graduation from Arkansas Tech University on Saturday feeling the same combination of excitement, relief and anticipation that many of his 650 fellow graduates experienced. Little did Nathan know his family and his professors had a very big surprise waiting for him in the hallway of Tucker Coliseum. When Qualls’ name was read and he walked across the arena floor to accept his Bachelor of Science degree in electrica...

ATU Art project benefits Main Street MissionFewer individuals in the Arkansas River Valley will be hungry this holiday season thanks to the efforts of the Arkansas Tech University Department of Art. The Empty Bowls project led by Ty Brunson, associate professor of art at ATU, and students from the Arkansas Tech Visual Arts Association raised $1,681 for the Main Street Mission in Russellville. Raul Torres, president of Main Street Mission, accepted the donation on behalf of the organizat...

News Briefs (Dec. 22, 2013)NKR adoption event scheduled Monday NKR (No Kill Russellville) will conduct an adoption event from 9-3 p.m. Monday at Tractor Supply Co. (320 N. Hampton Ave.) Please come out and show your support for local efforts to transform the Russellville Animal Shelter into a no-kill facility. Police cancel driving tests There will be no Driving Written or Driving Skills test given on the following dates and places: • Tuesday at the Arkansas State Polic...

Police take kids shoppingFifteen Russellville police officers took 24 children shopping at Walmart on Dec. 15 for the department's annual Shop with a Cop event. The police department, with the help of the Fraternal Order of Police, Bridgestone America's Trust Fund, Asurion, Walmart, Ladies Club and several private donors, raised more than $3,600 for the event. The police department works with the Salvation Army to find children to sponsor. "We give them [the Salvation...

Freedom House remains open after termination of directorRussellville's Freedom House is undergoing a change in leadership after the termination of its director, Gary Rhodes. After he was initially placed on administrative leave without pay, Rhodes' employment was terminated pending the outcome of an investigation. Request for details regarding Rhodes' termination were referred to an attorney, who did not return a request for comment made Thursday. Arkansas River Valley Area Council (ARVAC) Executiv...

City fights unsanitary living conditions(Editor's note: This is the fourth in an ongoing series on poverty in the Arkansas River Valley.) There are a number of area residents who may not be homeless, but they are just a step above, living in unsafe or unsanitary conditions. Bill Clark is Russellville's code enforcement officer. He responds to calls about poor living conditions and investigates to determine if structures meet code requirements. Sometimes, he has to go so far as to fo...

ATU art building now Browning HallOne of the most historic structures at Arkansas Tech University is now named in memory of one of the most generous benefactors the institution has ever known. The Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees changed the name of the facility previously known as the Old Art Building to William Elmo Browning Hall during its regular monthly meeting at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center on Thursday. Browning graduated from ATU in 1937. He gave b...

Marketing class competition yields campaign for Peach FestivalCLARKSVILLE — Students in University of the Ozarks Professor Deborah Sisson’s Promotion Strategies class had the opportunity to put theory to practice during the Fall 2013 Semester as they competed to develop a marketing campaign for the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce. Sisson, assistant professor of marketing and business, divided the upper level marketing class into three teams of five students. The teams competed against each...

Church Briefs (Dec. 20, 2013)First Cumberland Christmas services The First Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 1200 N. Arkansas Ave. invites everyone to Christmas services at 10 a.m. Sunday for worship and the Christmas Cantata “Messiah Sing” by the church choir directed by Janet Clement. There will be no Sunday school classes that morning. The community is also invited to a come-and-go service of prayer and communion from 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday. All are welcome to attend. Fir...

Johnson County implements eICU technologyJohnson Regional Medical Center (JRMC) recently partnered with Baptist Health eICU care to give their patients an additional team of medical specialists. The eICU programs allows phyisicans or nurses at JRMC to instantly connection with the critical care team at Baptist Health in Little Rock. The eICU care team includes physicians and nurses who are specialized in critical care and trained to execute predefined plans or intervene in emergencie...

Carnahan retiresDonald Carnahan is retiring from the math department at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) after nearly three decades. Saturday's commencement will mark the end of his last semester with ATU. Carnahan, 68, earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. After graduate school, he taught math and drove a bus for one year at Elkins High School before getting hired as Department Head of Mathematics at Ouachi...

Russellville afterschool meals project gets grantLITTLE ROCK — For some children, school lunch is the last nutritious meal they can count on getting each day. Without a snack and a meal in the evening, many kids can’t focus on homework or other activities that they enjoy. The Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and Share Our Strength, a national non-profit dedicated to ending childhood hunger, are helping sponsors across the state build successful Afterschool Pro...

Saint Mary’s honors volunteers with Christmas Tea CelebrationThis time of year is known as the season for giving, but for the Saint Mary’s Auxiliary, tis’ the season year round! Each year Saint Mary’s hosts a Christmas tea to celebrate the generous contributions made by members of the hospital Volunteer Auxiliary and honor them for their tireless efforts. For more than 40 years, volunteers have given their time and energy to assist patients and family members as well as support hospital operations. Givi...

ANO Unit 2 remains offlineArkansas Nuclear One's Unit 2 remains offline following a transformer fire last week. The fire broke out at a transformer right outside the Unit 2 turbine building at 7:50 a.m. on Dec. 9 and was extinguished by 9:17 a.m. The interruption of electrical power to Unit 2 caused protective systems to shut down the reactor. Operators will keep the Unit 2 reactor offline while the cause of the explosion is investigated and until a determination is ma...